Artwork
Portrait of a Woman

Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Arnold Boonen. It dates from 1720 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Technique & Style
Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 88.
Portrait of a Woman is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 88.5 cm high by 71 cm wide, created by Arnold Boonen in 1720. The work belongs to the portrait genre and depicts a solitary woman, rendered with the careful attention to facial features and attire characteristic of early‑eighteenth‑century Dutch portraiture. As an oil on canvas, the painting utilizes a traditional support that allows for smooth blending and subtle modeling of light and shadow, typical of Boonen’s technique.
History & Provenance
The work titled Portrait of a Woman was created in 1720 by Arnold Boonen as an oil paint painting. It measures 88.5 cm in height and 71 cm in width and depicts a woman. The painting belongs to the portrait genre and was originally produced for the Rijksmuseum collection, where it remains housed.
Portrait of a Woman by Arnold Boonen is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, as recorded in its Wikidata entry. The work is catalogued as a painting executed in oil paint on canvas, with dimensions of 88.5 cm in height and 71 cm in width.
No accession number, specific gallery location within the museum, or exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Context
Arnold Boonen's 1720 oil on canvas Portrait of a Woman, housed in the Rijksmuseum, exemplifies Dutch Golden Age portraiture through its formal composition and restrained realism. The work depicts an unidentified woman against a dark background, rendered with characteristic 18th-century attention to textural detail in clothing and facial features. Art historical analysis situates this small-scale portrait within Boonen's oeuvre as representative of the period's emerging middle-class patronage, where such paintings functioned as status markers for Amsterdam's merchant elite.
Comparative study with contemporary works reveals Boonen's stylistic continuity with Rembrandt's circle while demonstrating his own approach to psychological immediacy within the constraints of portrait convention.
Overview
Arnold Boonen’s oil painting, dated 1720, presents a seated woman rendered in a restrained palette. The work is part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection, where it is displayed among other Dutch portraiture of the early eighteenth century. Its modest dimensions and intimate composition focus attention on the sitter’s demeanor rather than elaborate setting.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait features a woman in a pale yellow dress with a modest neckline and a crisp white collar. Her hair is loosely gathered, and she rests her hands on a dark, draped surface, conveying a sense of calm composure. The subdued expression suggests a private, perhaps domestic, identity rather than a public role.
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